March 2000

Three GuysThree Guys

The fellas on Three Guys-Konitz, Steve Swallow and Paul Motian-are very familiar figures, of course, and they all make lots of records. I imagine that this one will appeal primarily to the diehards. All three men play well, of course, but the feeling is more introspective, and some of the writing is sticky sweet to my ears. Swallow really controls the flow with very interesting figures which utilize partial chord forms very effectively on his five-string electric bass. I don't know how things would mesh with another chordal instrument in the group, but with this as the only harmonic frame of reference, fifty minutes starts to feel like a long time.